The Simple Gospel According To The Bible

by David J. Stewart
May 2014 | Updated June 2020

       Religion wants to fit us with glasses, but the Lord wants to open our eyes! Thank God for the truth of His precious Word, which is a lamp unto our feet. Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” America's churches influence the world, so if Satan can corrupt our churches here at home, then he can corrupt the world. The United States sends out more missionaries than any other nation. Sadly, there is MUCH heresy and false teaching circulating on the radio, television and in our churches nowadays concerning what a person must do to be saved.

What exactly is the Gospel? The word “Gospel” means “Good News” or “Glad Tidings.” There is no need to guess what the “Gospel” is because the Bible plainly tells us. The “Gospel” is the Good News of Christ's DEATH on the cross for our sins, His BURIAL and bodily RESURRECTION three days later:

1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

We are saved by BELIEVING “the Gospel,” which is the power of God unto salvation. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” It is that simple to be saved. If you come to God as a needy sinner, and you receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, and bodily resurrected three days later, and that is your only hope for eternal life, then YOU ARE IMMEDIATELY, SECURELY AND FOREVER SAVED!!!

Some men sincerely asked Jesus what “works” they must do to be saved. Jesus told them to simply BELIEVE ON HIM and the “work” is done! John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Dear reader, if you'd like, you need read no further to be saved. I have given you the whole truth of the saving Gospel. You now possess the KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH of the Gospel.

If you'd like to learn more, please read on (and thank you for allowing me to share the truth with you dear friend).
 

What About Repentance and Salvation?

In the Gospel of John, the words “believe” and “believed” are mentioned 85 times, but the word “repent” is not mentioned even once. Clearly, the person who BELIEVES has also repented. This is not difficult to understand, when you learn the truth that the Greek meaning of “repent” in the Bible to be saved is 'metanoia,' which is simply “a change of mind.” Repentance is a change of mind unto the Gospel itself. Repentance facilitates believing. If a man didn't repent he wouldn't believe.

Perhaps you ask the question, “How do I know when I believe if I have repented?” That is an impossibility my friend! No one has ever believed the 'Good News' (Gospel) of the Lord Jesus Christ who didn't also repent. In fact, it is not even necessary to mention repentance when witnessing the Gospel to someone, evidenced by the fact that God Himself doesn't mention the word “repent” even once throughout the Gospel of John (which is God's Gospel tract according to John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”) Isn't that beautiful?! The only reason I included this helpful information in this article, is because there are many false prophets today (all over the internet and in the churches), who errantly say that you must forsake sinful behavior or else God won't save you! They are liars! The way it works is that first God saves a person, and then the indwelling Holy Spirit changes them (which is entirely a matter of discipleship and not sonship). Many people get saved but never change outwardly, so oftentimes they are falsely accused by judgmental men of not being saved; but if a person sincerely has placed their trust and hope in what Jesus did on the cross to pay for their sins, they are saved!

Steps In Sanctification; Or, The Root Of All Heresy
(awesome MP3 sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles - Read Article)

We learn in the Bible that God gave His law to humanity, to show us our sinnership. Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” The law of God shows us that we are guilty sinners in God's sight (see also Galatians 3:24-26). We are woeful sinners, deserving of death and punishment in the Lake of Fire (i.e., Hell). This is the BAD NEWS! No one ever got saved who didn't admit to being a sinner in God's eyes. 1st John 1:7, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” To be saved, you MUST realize that you are a guilty sinner for breaking God's commandments. We are all horrible sinners! We've all lied! We've all coveted! We've all sinned! Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” This is the BAD NEWS!!!

Repentance is simply the admission that I am as guilty a sinner as God has declared me to be in His Word. Let me make it very simple—YOU ARE A GUILTY SINNER IN GOD'S SIGHT, and unless you accept Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full-payment for your sins, you will spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell.
 

What Repentance is Not!

Repentance is NOT turning away from sinful behavior, not reformation, not a desire to clean up one's life of sin, not forsaking the world, not turning over a new leaf, not a willingness to turn away from sin, not a change of heart toward sinful bad habits, not a change of life, et cetera. As we have already learned from examining the Greek word, metanoia, that Bible repentance is simply a change of mind. Acts 20:21 speaks of “repentance toward God.” Repentance is toward God facilitating faith in the Gospel. This truth is evidenced by the hundreds of New Testament Scriptures that simply tell us to “BELIEVE” to be saved. For example: 1st Corinthians 1:21, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE.”

Also, please notice that the entire purpose for which the Epistle of 1st John was written, is so that “ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1st John 5:13). Yet, carefully notice that the apostle John doesn't mention the word “repent” even once in all of 1st John. THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES!!! If turning away from sinful behavior was required to be saved, then no doubt John would have made a big deal of it in his Epistle. And remember, “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2nd Timothy 3:16a). That means every word in the Holy Bible came from almighty God!!!!!!!

Repentance is necessary for salvation, but it doesn't mean what many corrupt preachers are saying. Kindly, false prophets on repentance include: John MacArthur, Billy Graham, Ray Comfort, Aiden Tozer, Jack Chick, William Lane Craig, David Cloud, Kirk Cameron, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Ellen G. White, Seventh-day Adventists, John Piper, Chip Ingram, Charles Lawson, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Beth Moore, Charles Stanley, John Hagee, James Dobson and Franklin Graham, to name a few. Without repentance, no man would ever come to the light of the Gospel to be saved (John 3:20; 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4). It is not the act of sin itself that a person must turn from to be saved; but rather, turning toward God in admission of guilt for one's sins, which have hindered them from believing the Gospel to be saved (John 3:20). We are not saved by repenting, we are saved by placing our trust in Jesus Christ, but no one has ever trusted Christ who didn't also repent!!! You don't repent first, and then believe second, they happen simultaneously, and are inseparable.

So few people have a clear understanding of how salvation works. You cannot add or subtract anything to Christ's payment on the cross for our sins. Many churches today have been deceived by religious men, straying away from God's Word. Psalms 118:8, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” Roman Catholicism traditionally has a wrong view of repentance, which is what the modern English meaning adheres to. Look in any English dictionary for the meaning of “repentance” and you'll find something like, “To turn away from sins; penance; to feel remorse and contrition for past sins.” That is man's definition of repentance, not God's. The Greek meaning is “a change of mind,” nothing more. Since we don't know what to “change our mind” about, we need supplemental (additional) information, which is the whole reason behind God's usage of this beautiful word, metanoia. Metanoia is all-inclusive! It includes turning toward the Gospel from EVERYTHING!!! It is a false Gospel to teach people to turn from sinful behavior to receive the free gift of God, which is eternal life. Romans 3:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Unless you trust CHRIST ALONE for your salvation, you CANNOT be saved. I don't think Chip Ingram is saved. I also don't think Billy Graham is saved. They both require HUMAN EFFORT to be saved, that is, to try to stop sinning, which is a false gospel. Also, please read my rebuttal of Pastor Charles Lawson's heresy on repentance. If we have to change our sinful behavior to be saved, then we're all going straight to Hell. Repentance is a change of mind, not a change of behavior. A changed life is the FRUIT of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and not manmade repentance (Matthew 27:3). But you ask, couldn't a person still be saved even though they are confused about salvation? I find that hard to believe, because if you believe wrong then you trust wrong, and unless you are totally resting in the blood of Jesus that washes our sins away, then you haven't been born-again by the Spirit of God.

Please remember that a man named Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 was a devout religion man. Cornelius feared God, prayed, tithed and fasted, yet he was a religious lost man on his way to Hell. God sent the apostle Peter to witness to Cornelius and thankfully he got saved later in the chapter. God is good! Many good people go to Hell, because they fail to understand that no amount of goodness can cleanse away our past sins. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away a person's sins (1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 1st Peter 1:18-19; Romans 5:9 - all Scripture quotes are only from the trustworthy King James Bible).

Confession Is Never A Requirement For Salvation

Beware Of A Cross-less Gospel

There is a cross-less Gospel that has crept into today's churches which merely says to “trust Jesus” or “invite Jesus into your heart” or “commit your life to Christ” to be saved. You can do all of these things and go straight to Hell when you die. My friend, the Gospel truth is that Christ “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” Surrendering to Christ's Lordship is NOT a requirement to be saved. Forsaking the world and having intent to reform is NOT a requirement to be saved. If you are trusting in the risen Christ, Jesus Who died in your place on the cross for YOUR SINS, then you are saved! It's that simple.

Now to clarify, no one ever got saved who didn't admit that he or she is a sinner! This truth is confirmed in Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” The Bible silences the boasting of self-righteous men who brag of keeping the law of Moses. We see the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-21, boasting that he had kept all of God's commandments “FROM MY YOUTH UP.” Then we see the unsaved group of religious people boasting in Matthew 7:21-23 of their own “MANY WONDERFUL WORKS.”

Ah, but the law of God was intended by God to be used as a measuring stick, by which when compared we see ourselves as A GUILTY SINNER in God's sight. This then leaves us with only one option if we would desire to enter Heaven one day in eternity, and that only option is to BELIEVE THE GOSPEL (the good news of Christ's death, burial and resurrection).

The Scriptures explain themselves very well. Galatians 3:24-26, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Repentance is a change of mind about what we want to do to get to Heaven, to what God says that we must do to get to Heaven. Repentance is simply admitting that I am a needy sinner in God's sight, realizing that I am totally incapable of saving myself in any way.

The man who comes to Christ has repented, which is the very reason he is coming to Jesus to be saved from his sins. Repentance and faith happen at THE SAME TIME, and are inseparable. Turning from sins is mere human reformation, not repentance. Judas repented (a different Greek word, metamellomaiin, meaning “to feel remorse afterwards, regret”) in Matthew 27:3, but still went to Hell in his sins. Judas had no faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Judas was sorry he got caught, but he hadn't realized that he was a needy sinner in God's sight, for breaking God's commandments. Regret (penitence) is not required to be saved. Making a mend (penance) is not how to be saved. Turning from sins (reformation) is not allowed in God's plan of redemption. Repentance is simply a change of mind from WRONG THINKING to believing the Gospel. We are saved by BELIEVING the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!!!
 

Simply BELIEVE the Gospel to Be Saved

If you acknowledge your guilty condition and inability to save yourself, seeing your need for redemption, simply BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ and you are saved. Christ died in your place on the cross. He was buried and three days later bodily raised up from the dead. Simply receive Jesus sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins. That's how salvation works, that is, you cease from your own DEAD WORKS, and you REST in what Christ has already done to pay for your sins. We are saved by believing. Jesus does all the saving! We are saved by God's grace and mercy.

1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

You do NOT have to be water baptized nor doing anything to get to Heaven other than trust upon the Lord as your Savior. Romans 4:5 proclaims... “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him (Jesus) that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” What a wonderful truth! Our faith is COUNTED for righteousness! There is NO self-righteousness involved in salvation. It is the gift of God. You see, we have no righteousness of our own to offer God. No amount of good can undo the bad we've done. Thus, Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt that we could not pay. Salvation is receiving, not giving. We are Sinners and Jesus is the Savior. Jesus is precious!

Unbelief is the only sin which can keep you out of Heaven.

Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!

Trusting Jesus is meaningless without the cross. You must believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, was buried and physically resurrected from the dead 72 hours later. 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 teaches that the Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God's simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.

You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple!” Yes, that simple. It is scriptural; it is God's plan. My friend, to have eternal life simply receive Christ as your sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried and resurrected three days later. This is the gospel according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4.

If you've never been saved, then now is the time to believe upon the name of Jesus, the Christ, that your sins will be blotted out forever and you can know that your name is written in Heaven. Jesus died on the cross as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), He raised up from the dead as our High Priest (Hebrews 4:15-16) to sprinkle His blood onto the heavenly mercy seat (Hebrews 9:12,24; 12:24), and then He sat down on the Father's right-hand as our Intercessor (Romans 8:34). What an awesome Savior!!!
 

You Don't Need to Ask, Confess or Pray To Be Saved, Just Simply Believe

Jesus Christ died for your sins. You are a sinner by nature and by choice (and so am I and everyone else). Jesus took our sins and charged them to His own record. He went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sins. He says if you're willing to receive Him in faith, He will transfer His payment to your debt, and His righteousness to you. He will impute to you His goodness (Romans 4:6), and impute to His own record your sin; if you in faith will trust Him as your Savior. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? (by Dr. Harry Ironside, 1876-1951).

NOBODY IS LAUGHING IN HELL!!!

Did you know that you don't even have to ask Jesus to save you? That is 100% correct! Jesus has already paid for your sins and mine with His precious blood, which is why forgiveness of sins is a gift, free to anyone who desires it. Along with the gift of forgiveness of our sins comes the free gift of eternal life. Yes, every believer receives immortality of both soul and body forever!!! What a great offer!

Again, you don't need to ASK God to save you, because He has already told you how to be saved, that is, by simply believing that His only begotten Son died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and bodily raised up from the dead three days later. Christ raised up from the dead, which means that God the Father accepted His Son's payment for the sins of the world. Christ suffered on the cross so that we wouldn't have to suffer in a literal Hell forever. Amen! You don't have to bow your head to be saved. You don't have to pray. You don't have to confess Jesus publicly. You don't have to go to church. You don't have to get water baptized. You don't have to try to stop sinning. You don't have to do anything except BELIEVE (with a childlike faith) that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, was buried and then miraculously raised up bodily the third day.

Simply place your confidence in the risen Savior, receiving His payment on the cross for your sins as your only hope for Heaven. It's that simple my dear friend to be born-again!!! Remember, we are saved by God's imputed righteousness, which is through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by our own self-righteousness by human effort. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

Please Don't Go to Hell Forever!

Religion is man trying to reach God through human effort, but Christianity is God trying to reach man by the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

Jesus doesn't forgive sins. That is correct! Jesus has already paid for our sins with His blood. Forgiveness of sins and eternal life are free gifts, which Christ has already paid for with His own precious blood. 1st Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” You don't get to Heaven by meriting anything. We are woeful sinners, who all deserve to burn in Hell forever. I don't claim to understand it all, but I believe the Word of God. We just read in Romans 6:23 that “THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH.” We earn death!

That includes a “second death” in Hell. Revelation 20:15 says, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” If you tell one lie, you are a “liar.” We have all lied!!! We all deserve to burn in the lake of fire and brimstone. The bottom line my friend is that whether or not you think you deserve to burn in Hell, YOU WILL if you reject God's free gift of forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ.

1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” It's that simple to be saved... “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again...”

If you would like to search for a good church where you live, CLICK HERE.

3,000 Converts Baptized In One Day!
(beware of anyone who criticizes easy-believism and immediate baptism)

“Repent, as Christ meant it to be in terms of salvation, means to change your mind
from trusting in what you can do for God to trusting only in what He can do for you.”
SOURCE: Michael Patrick Bowen, a quote from the awesome book, “I NEVER NEW YOU” (p. 114)

Good Works Or Bad Works, Both Are Works!

Mark 1:15: “...repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

It's Not The Shedding Of Jesus' Blood That Saves, But The 'SPRINKLING' Of That Shed Blood

ABOVE: Me and My 4-Year-Old Grandson, Luigi, Hangout Out in October of 2018

“Only the Word of God can make you a man of God!”
—a quote by Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold from the awesome sermon, “The Sure Word of Prophecy”

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“Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do!”
—Pastor Jack Hyles, a quote from the MP3 sermon titled: “God's Reversal Of Psalm 51”

1st Corinthians 16:24, “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”